| The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date. This site is not updated so external links may no longer function. Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. |
TITLE: SWEDEN HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
SWEDEN
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty,
parliamentary democracy. The King is Chief of State. All
executive authority is vested in the Cabinet which is formed
through direct parliamentary elections every 3 years and
consists of the Prime Minister (Head of Government) and some 20
ministers. A four-party non-socialist minority government came
to power in October 1991 after national elections.
The police, all security organizations, and the armed forces
are controlled by and responsive to the civilian authorities
and are generally scrupulous in their protection of human
rights. Either the Government, the judicial system, the
Parliament, or an ombudsman investigates thoroughly all
allegations of human rights violations, including the
occasional allegation of police abuse.
Sweden is an advanced industrial democracy with a high standard
of living, extensive social services and a mixed economy. Over
90 percent of businesses are privately owned.
Human rights are deeply respected and widely protected. Swedes
are entirely free to express their political preferences,
pursue individual interests, and seek legal resolution of
disputes. Ombudsmen, appointed by the Parliament but with full
autonomy, investigate private complaints of alleged abuses of
authority by officials and prescribe corrective action, if
required. There continued to be instances of anti-foreigner
violence, which were vigorously prosecuted by the Government.
An assault on Somali immigrants led to prison terms for the
perpetrators, and the infamous "laser man" who in 1991-92 shot
almost a dozen immigrants (killing one) was convicted in nine
of the assaults late in the year. The overall human rights
situation was largely unchanged in 1993.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
Killing for political motives by the Government or by domestic
opposition groups did not occur. Two deaths occurred in
official custody. Swedish courts ruled, however, that although
physical restraint contributed to causing both deaths, the
deaths occured primarily as a result of medical conditions
missed by the custodial officers. The officers in question
were fined for official negligence.
b. Disappearance
Abduction, secret arrests, and clandestine detention by Swedish
authorities did not occur.
c. Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Swedish law prohibits these abuses, and the authorities respect
such prohibitions. Occasional accusations against individual
policemen of excessive use of force in connection with arrests
are carefully investigated, but have not produced evidence of a
systematic problem. However, after the September 1993 alleged
rape of a female motorist in a patrol car by a Gothenburg
policeman, the national police undertook a review of some
10,000 cases of past alleged police abuse from the past several
years to search again for such a pattern; this review continued
at year's end. Police officers found guilty of abuse typically
have been suspended or subjected to other disciplinary actions,
including prison terms. One such officer, a male accused of
undue sexual liberties with an inebriated female, was at year's
end in the process of being terminated from his position as
well as facing rape charges in the criminal courts.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Statutory guarantees of individual liberty are observed.
Persons disturbing the public order or considered dangerous may
be held for 6 hours without charge. Criminal suspects may be
held no longer than 12 hours without formal charges. If a
person files for bankruptcy and refuses to cooperate with the
official investigation, a court may order detention for up to 3
months, with judicial review every 2 weeks. Arrest is public
and by warrant. The time permitted by law between detention
and arraignment is 48 hours. In cases involving potential
threat to public safety or risk of flight the time between
arrest and the first court hearing may be extended to 96 hours
(an extremely rare occurence). Bail does not exist, but
suspects not considered dangerous or likely to destroy evidence
are released to await trial.
By law, Swedish citizens may not be deported. Convicted
foreign criminals are often deported at the conclusion of their
prison terms, unless they risk execution or other severe
punishment at home.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution forbids deprivation of liberty without public
trial by a court of law. The judiciary functions freely and
independently. The accused have the right to competent
counsel, although the availability of public defenders is
restricted to cases where the maximum penalty could be a prison
sentence of six months or more. Convicted persons in most
instances may appeal to a court of appeals, and in some cases
also to the Supreme Court. There are no military courts in
peacetime.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The law provides assurance against such arbitrary
interference. Home searches are limited to investigations of
crimes punishable by at least 2 years' imprisonment, such as
murder, robbery, rape, arson, sabotage, counterfeiting, and
treason. Search warrants are granted only on the basis of
well-founded suspicion. Wiretaps are permitted only in cases
involving narcotics or national security. Searches and
wiretaps normally require court approval. When the time factor
is critical, or when life is believed to be in immediate
danger, the ranking police officer may approve these measures.
There is no indication that telephone monotoring is done
arbitrarily, though an increase of permits was noted during
1992, primarily involving serious narcotics crimes.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Swedes enjoy these freedoms fully. Newspapers and periodicals
are, for the most part, privately owned. Government subsidies
to daily newspapers, regardless of political affiliation, help
assure a plurality of views.
Broadcasting in Sweden operates under a state concession. The
Swedish Broadcasting Company and its independent subsidiaries
(TV-1, TV-2, national and educational radio) previously had a
monopoly over ground-based broadcasting, although a variety of
commercial television channels are available via sattelite or
cable. An independent commercial television channel with
ground-based broadcasting rights started operations in March
1992 and commercial radio stations started to broadcast in the
fall of 1993.
Publications containing sensitive national security
information, as well as film and television programs portraying
excessive violence, are subject to censorship. Commercial
video tapes are also censored (and possibly banned) if they
contain scenes of excessive violence. The National Board of
Swedish Film Censors monitors both films and videos slated for
distribution. The current Cultural Affairs Minister has
attempted to abolish the Film Censor Board, but opposition in
the Swedish Parliament has stalled those efforts.
Academic freedom is respected.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Swedes exercise these freedoms without restraint. Public
demonstrations require a police permit, for which applications
are routinely approved. In 1993, in an attempt to stop annual
right-wing, racist violence on November 30, "Karl XII Day," the
police and courts initially banned all demonstrations. The
Cultural Affairs Minister intervened in the name of free
speech, however, and reinstated that right so long as
protestors remained stationary. A massive police effort made
this year's demonstrations the most peaceable in many years.
c. Freedom of Religion
Swedes have unimpaired religious freedom. There is a state
Lutheran Church, supported by public funds, but persons not
wishing to support the state church with their tax money may
request (and easily receive) suspension of the church tax. All
other denominations and faiths are freely observed. Parents
have full freedom to teach their children religious practices
of their choice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Freedom of movement within and from the country and voluntary
repatriation are guaranteed to citizens by law and respected in
practice. Refugees, displaced persons, and others seeking
political asylum are on the whole generously treated. Under
the Terrorist Act as amended in 1991, foreigers with suspected
links to terrorist organizations and whose deportations cannot
be effected, may be required to report regularly to police
authorities, but there are no travel restrictions, and each
case must be reviewed by the courts on a regular basis--at
least every 3 years.
During 1993, an increasing number of illegal immigrants,
particularly from the former Yugoslavia, caused the Government
to begin actively searching for and deporting such refugees,
leading many to "go underground" to avoid deportation. The
Government has come under some degree of criticism for such
actions. A police raid on a convent which had declared itself
a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants shocked many Swedes,
particularly since children were present, but no change in
government policy was foreseen as a result of the negative
publicity.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Sweden has a long history of vigorous democratic political life
within a representative, multiparty parliamentary system. The
349 seats in the unicameral Parliament are divided
proportionally among the 7 political parties represented. A
party must win a minimum of 4 percent of the votes cast to
enter Parliament. Only citizens may be elected to the
Parliament. There is universal suffrage beginning at age 18.
Approximately 85 percent of eligible voters participated in the
1991 election. Voting takes place by secret ballot. Aliens
who have been legal residents for at least 3 years have the
right to vote and run for office in municipal elections.
Women participate actively in government and the political
process, accounting for one-third of the members of
Parliament. A Women's Party was formed in October 1992 to
offer an alternative to those who claim that women's issues are
not adequately addressed by the established parties.
There are no de jure or de facto barriers to participation by
the indigenous Sami, otherwise known as Lapps, whose civil and
political rights are fully protected. There are no Sami
members of Parliament, but they are present in leadership
positions within other centers of power, such as the boards of
labor unions.
Section 4 Government Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Active private organizations monitor issues such as the impact
of comprehensive social legislation and the condition of the
indigenous Sami population. Ombudsmen serve as official
governmental monitors of individual rights in Sweden and are
effective both in making citizens aware of their rights and in
publicizing and correcting abuse of state authority.
Government agencies are in close contact with a variety of
local and international groups working in Sweden and abroad to
improve human rights observance.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Basic economic, social, and cultural needs for the entire
population are thoroughly met by the state without
discrimination in the form of social welfare and medical
services, benefits to families, pensions, and disability and
unemployment insurance.
Women
Although there is no institutionalized job discrimination based
on sex, surveys show that women are underrepresented in higher
paying jobs, particularly in business, and often receive less
pay for equal work. Institutionalized efforts to extend
equality between the sexes continued in 1993. Sweden's largest
political party, the Social Democrats, decided that half of all
party nominations at all political levels would go to women.
Possibly due to the recession and the "last hired, first fired"
discrimination experienced by women, the percentage of women in
the work force employed full-time fell in 1993 for the first
time in the postwar period, to 75.9 percent.
Employers are required to base hiring decisions on merit and to
pursue actively the goal of equality. A public official [the
Equality Ombudsman] investigates complaints of sex
discrimination in the labor market. However, in 1993 the
Ombudsman received little attention and is perceived to have
made little progress. Most cases reported to her were
withdrawn before completion due to some resolution having been
reached between the parties or a decision by the complainant to
withdraw the case. Sexual harassment is prohibited by law.
The issue of sexual harassment at work received continued high
attention in 1993. Several work places started programs to
prevent such practices.
Rape and abuse of women continued to receive a great deal of
attention. Laws protect abused women from having their abusers
discover their whereabouts or contact them. In a few cases,
women have been helped to obtain new identities and homes. In
1992 the Government decided to provide bodyguards for women in
extreme danger of being assaulted by former male companions.
Those in slightly less danger have been provided with
electronic alarms that can summon the police, methods which the
women report have significantly improved their quality of life
and sense of security. The abusers typically are prosecuted
and sentenced to jail terms or psychiatric treatment. Both
national and local governments support voluntary groups that
provide shelter and help to abused women. The number of
reported rapes, some 1,400 yearly, has remained at
approximately the same level since 1989.
Children
The Government is strongly committed to protecting children's
rights and welfare. Swedish law prohibits parents or other
caretakers from abusing children either mentally or
physically. Parents, teachers, and other adults are subject to
prosecution if they physically punish a child. Children have
the right to report such abuses to the police; on some
occasions parents have been found guilty of physical abuse in a
court of law. The usual sentence has been a fine, combined
with counselling and monitoring of the family by social
workers. If the situation warrants, children may be removed
from the home and placed in foster care. However, because of a
strong legal emphasis on parental rights, it is extremely rare
for such children to be adopted officially by their foster
families or others. As in the past several years, the number
of cases of reported abuse in 1993 rose by approximately 25
percent. Swedish experts attribute virtually all of the
increase to a rise in reporting of abuse rather than to a rise
in abusive behavior. The Government allocates funds to
independent organizations involved with children's rights.
During 1993 a Child Ombudsman was appointed, taking office in
July.
Indigneous Peoples
Some 17,000 Sami (Lapps) live in Sweden. While there are no
formal obstacles to their participation in the political
process, they tend to address their specific interests through
various organizations earmarked for Sami such as the National
Association of Swedish Sami which was organized in 1918. A
Sami "parliament", the "Sametinget," was formed in 1993,
consisting of 31 members. Eleven different Sami parties are
represented in the Sametinget, which is to convene four times a
year and have consultative responsibilities to the Government.
A law permitting non-Sami to hunt on designated reindeer
pastures went into effect during 1993. Several Sami protested
with hunger demonstrations. Yet another law permitting
non-Sami to fish in lakes previously reserved for the Sami is
scheduled to go into effect by January 1994. A suspension of
that law, and the abolition of the new hunting law, is on the
new Sametinget's agenda.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
There were a number of incidents of anti-foreigner acts in
1993, some violent. Most of the incidents involved clashes
between groups of ethnic Swedish and non-Swedish youths. At
least a dozen immigrants were physically assaulted, and several
immigrant businesses and homes were burned or damaged. Threats
of such violence are more common and appear to be increasing.
For example, in one case a Greek restaurant in a small coastal
town closed after repeated threats and harassment by local
youths and complaints by neighbors that the restaurant was
"un-Swedish." Also, the Talinas Refugee Camp in northern
Sweden, which houses some 600 refugees from the former
Yugoslavia and Somalia, saw a wave of nighttime attacks,
including burning crosses, smashed windows, and an ultimately
unsucessful arson attempt on one of the camp's apartment
buildings. In August a mosque was firebombed and completely
destroyed. The perpetrators received prison terms ranging from
a few months to 2 years. As noted above, the infamous "laser
man" (so called because he used a laser sight to hunt down
immigrants) also was convicted and is to be sentenced early in
1994 pending further psychiatric examination.
The Government decided in 1993 to move responsibility for
processing refugees to the local level. All municipalities
will be required to accept a certain number of refugees and
provide for their needs. A few such entitites have declared
they will not accept refugees, but the matter has not been
tested as the largest number of refugees, primarily from
Bosnia, is not anticipated until 1994. Although violent acts
such as those described above are anathema to the overwhelming
majority of Swedes, attitudes in general towards asylum seekers
contined to sour. Refugees are resented in some quarters
because they were perceived to receive too-generous benefits
(such as immediate placement in apartments and extensive
financial support) in a time of recession.
The Government, particularly the present Cultural Minister, is
making efforts to change these attitudes. The Government
intervened in November, for instance, to overturn a decision by
the Immigration Department to deny asylum to several Russian
Jews. The Government also supports groups which work against
racism and anti-immigrant sentiments. Perhaps the most
effective is the "5-to-12" movement (taking its name from the
"atomic clock"), founded by the parents of a teenage girl who
on her own began organizing weekly anti-racist vigils in her
hometown. When their daughter was killed by an Eritrian
immigrant, her parents channeled their sorrow into making the
vigils a nationwide event, to occur on the December 5 at
5-to-12 in the evening. The King and Queen joined this year's
vigils. Swedish schools provide education and information
designed to counter racist tendencies. The Government and key
politicians, including the Prime Minister, issued strong
statements about Sweden's history of tolerance and its need to
continue in that tradition regardless of the economic downturn.
The Government runs special programs to help immigrants adjust
to Swedish life and culture [including 240 hours of free
Swedish-language instruction]. Immigrants still complained
about difficulties in finding professional employment. The
Government continued its efforts to translate and evaluate
diplomas from foreign countries to facilitate the hiring of
foreign nationals with documented professional skills, with
several new nationalities added to the approved list.
Unemployment figures for immigrants in general were
considerably higher than for native-born Swedes.
People with Disabilities
Disabled persons are provided with extra help to be able to
live as normal a life as possible in their own homes, as well
as assistance in pursuing a career or holding a job.
Regulations for new buildings require that they be fully
accessible. However, this requirement has not been extended to
existing public buildings.
Section 6 Workers Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers have the right to associate freely and to strike. A
large majority of the working population, including career
military personnel, police officers, and civilian government
officials, belong to trade unions. Unions conduct their
activities with complete independence from the Government and
political parties, although the Confederation of Labor Unions
(LO), the largest federation, has been allied for many years
with the Social Democratic Party. Swedish trade unions are
free to affiliate internationally and are active in a broad
range of international trade union organizations. Laws forbid
retribution against legal strikers. On the other hand, illegal
strikers (i.e., wildcat strikers or a strike action that
recklessly and clearly endangers health or safety) can be fined
by labor courts. Only a few minor strikes took place in 1993,
most of them settled quickly. The longest strike during the
year was that of the electricians which lasted about a month.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Workers are free to organize and bargain collectively. The
traditional form of collective bargaining through national
framework agreements between central organizations of workers
and employers, followed by industry- and factory-level
agreements on details, was challenged by the Swedish Employers'
Confederation, SAF. In 1993, after a two-year wage
stabilization agreement expired, a new national agreement with
small wage increases was signed for the manufacturing
industry. As structured, the settlement represented a step
toward the decentralization of the wage formation process, as
favored by business. At the same time, labor welcomed the
conclusion of a national-level agreement with a modest wage
increase instead of threatened wage cuts.
Swedish law fully protects workers from antiunion
discrimination and provides sophisticated and effective
mechanisms for resolving disputes and complaints. Disputes
concerning violations of labor laws are in the vast majority of
cases solved by informal discussions between the involved
parties. Should a settlement not be reached, a Labor Court
tries cases of general interest for guidance and interpretation
of the law, and its rulings in turn are followed by other
courts. Employers generally accept the unions' partnership
role; there were no known cases of firing an employee for union
activities in 1993.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor, which does not exist, is prohibited
by law which is enforced by the police and public prosecutors.
d. Minimum Age of Employment of Children
Compulsory 9-year education ends at age 16, and full-time
employment is normally permitted at that age under supervision
of local municipal or community authorities. Those under age
18 may work only during daytime and under a foreman's
supervision. During summer and vacation periods, children as
young as 13 may be hired for part-time work or light "summer
jobs" for periods of 5 days or less. It is rare for people
under 15 to be employed except by family members. Violations
are few, and enforcement--by police and public prosecutors,
with the assistance of the unions--is considered good.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no national minimum wage law. Wages are set by
collective bargaining contracts, which typically have been
observed even at non-union establishments. Even the lowest
paid workers are able to maintain a decent standard of living
for themselves and their families because of substantial
assistance available from social welfare entitlements. The
standard legal work week is 40 hours or less. The amount of
permissible overtime is also regulated, as are rest periods.
Since 1991, Sweden's vacation law has guaranteed all employees
a minimum of 5 weeks plus 2 days of paid annual leave, and many
labor contracts provide more. During 1993, however, the
minimum leave was reduced by 2 days through negotiations with
the unions. Occupational health and safety rules, set by the
government-appointed National Board of Occupational Health and
Safety in consultation with employer and union representatives,
are closely observed. Trained trade union stewards and safety
ombudsmen monitor observance of regulations governing working
conditions. Safety ombudsmen have the authority to stop
life-threatening activity immediately and to call for a labor
inspector. The courts have upheld this authority.
[end of document]
Return
to 1993 Human Rights Practices report home page.
Return to DOSFAN
home page.
This is an official U.S. Government source
for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links
does not imply endorsement of contents.